It’s Time to Hold DESE Accountable
A version of the following commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. For years, the Show-Me Institute has scrutinized the Missouri Department...
The Long Fight for Educational Freedom with Neal McCluskey and James Shuls
Learn more about the book here: www.cato.org/books/fighting-freedom-learn Susan Pendergrass speaks with James Shuls, fellow at the Show-Me Institute and head of...
Springfield Needs Charter Schools
A version of the following commentary appeared in the Springfield News-Leader. Of Missouri’s four largest cities—Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, and...
Missouri’s Stagnant Reading Scores
The COVID-19 pandemic began over five years ago. Students in 7th grade during the initial phase of remote learning are...
Understanding the Decline in Student Test Scores with Jim Wyckoff
Susan Pendergrass speaks with Dr. Jim Wyckoff about how national test scores, especially for the lowest-performing students, began falling well before the pandemic and what states can do to reverse the trend.
New State Board of Education Has a Long To-Do List
A version of this commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. Governor Kehoe has appointed four new members to the Missouri...
A Bad Deal for Missouri’s Children
A version of this commentary appeared in The Heartlander Tradeoffs and give-and-take are at the heart of politics. We’re told...
Crystal City to Vote on the Four-Day School Week
On Tuesday, Crystal City voters will decide whether to retain their district’s four-day school week (4dsw) or return to a...
Performance Districts and Education Spending
The State of Missouri provides almost half of the funding for public education in the Show-Me State. In its latest...
The Last Thing Missouri Needs Is More Urban Planning
A recent op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called for substantially increasing the power of urban planners in St. Louis and...
What’s So Great about Performance Districts?
The state of Missouri provides almost half of the funding for public education (the rest comes from the federal government...
Should Missouri Consider a 3rd-Grade Retention Policy?
Do you think students should get promoted to the next grade if they do not understand grade-level material? There are...
Comparing the Performance of Public Schools in the City of St. Louis
One common argument against charter schools is that some have low test scores. It’s true that some charter schools, particularly...
More Districts to Try New Standardized Testing System
This school year, six St. Louis-area school districts will begin using a new adaptive testing system to assess student performance...
Is There a Comeback Story in Missouri Schools?
The 2024 Summer Olympics have come to a close, and there were so many amazing storylines such as Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone...
Missouri Needs More Market Forces in Education
In a recent Show-Me Institute paper, Why Markets Matter in Education, Dr. Michael McShane effectively summarizes the importance of free...
Are Missouri Students in School Enough?
Recently, I came across a fascinating paper from Matthew Kraft of Brown University and Sarah Novicoff of Stanford University about...
The National Hybrid Schools Project with Eric Wearne
Susan Pendergrass speaks to Eric Wearne about The National Hybrid Schools Project. The National Hybrid Schools Project is the national...
What if We Decided to Lean in to Testing?
The College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) program teaches college-level coursework to high school students and then tests their knowledge with...
Some States Making Large Reading Gains Post-Pandemic
The hit game Wordle is something I look forward to doing every day. While the prestigious and crowning achievement of...
